Garcia pieced up Granados over seven grueling rounds before the referee stopped the fight

Adrian Granados' chin prove as advertised. The problem for him is so did Danny Garcia's power.

Garcia (35-2, 21 KOs), a former two-division champion, bounced back from a title defeat to Shawn Porter last September to record a trio of knockdowns en route to a seventh-round TKO on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

The victory puts the 31-year-old Garcia back into the driver's seat for a big fight to close 2019 in a crowded and star-studded welterweight division under the Premier Boxing Champions banner, featuring the likes of Porter, Keith Thurman, Manny Pacquiao and Errol Spence Jr.

Granados (20-7-2, 14 KOs), who is known for both his heart and his hard-luck in coming up on the short end of a gluttonous amount of close decisions, was simply outgunned against a full-fledged welterweight with this kind of power.

"I think the statement was I had to come in here and knock him out," Garcia said. "A regular decision wouldn't be enough, I had to be the first man to stop him and I did that tonight."

Garcia outlanded Granados 159 to 79, according to CompuBox, and limited his opponent to just 19 percent of his punches landed. He also looked crisp and busy throughout after making significant changes in training camp from the standpoint of nutrition and conditioning.

"Like I said, when Danny Garcia is at his best, no one can beat him," Garcia said. "I got a little comfortable in the past and didn't give that extra mile but I put in my 110 percent and this is what you get when you get 110 percent of Danny Garcia, one of the best fighters in the world."

While the 29-year-old Granados began the fight with his trademark pressure, his inability to keep his hands up opened early opportunities as Garcia timed a perfect counter left hook to floor him in Round 2. After backing Granados up with power shots later in the round, Garcia added a second knockdown with a counter right cross.

Garcia continued to land clean combinations as Granados' corner began to respond to his swelling face by threatening to stop it if he didn't rally for a knockout. Garcia unloaded a three-punch combo in Round 5 along the ropes that ended with a right hand that dropped Granados.

In Round 7, Garcia poured it on again as Granados was pinned against the ropes until referee Thomas Taylor jumped in to stop the bout.

Told after the fight that Pacquiao was waiting to see the results of Garcia's bout before deciding on his next fight, Garcia welcomed a fight against the Filipino icon.

"I hope I didn't scare him away," Garcia said. "Definitely, I would love [that] fight and would definitely love a rematch with Thurman and Porter or Errol Spence."

Brian Campbell covers MMA, boxing and WWE. The Connecticut native joined CBS Sports in 2017 and has covered combat sports since 2010. He has written and hosted various podcasts and digital shows for ESPN...
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